On The Fly

Alex Avila's two-out RBI single lifted the Tigers past the Yankees, 3-2. It was a painful loss for the Yankees, who dropped two of three games to one of their prime wild card competitors.

There was some good news for the Yankees after Masahiro Tanaka threw 49 pitches in a simulated game. Manager Joe Girardi said he was optimistic, while Tanaka felt he still was rusty. The team hopes Tanaka, who has a partially torn right ulnar collateral ligament, continues to rehab and pitches in September.

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A major league record happened in San Francisco. Thankfully, Barry Bonds didn't come back from retirement and homer. Pitcher Yusmeiro Petit set a record by retiring his 46th consecutive batter. He retired the first eight Rockies for the record. That broke MarkBuehrle's record of 45 with the 2009 White Sox. Petit's streak ended when pitcher Jordan Lyles doubled. Petit's record covered eight games, six of them in relief.

Pete Rose will manage the Bridgeport Bluefish again. The last time he did this in June, fans paid $250 each to get into a "meet and greet" with him and others paid $150 to have lunch with him. But on Sept. 14, he returns to Bridgeport to be part of "Ken Shepard Day." He's the team's general manager, who's fighting Stage 4 kidney cancer. Give credit to Rose on this one. The Bluefish will wear commemorative jerseys that will be auctioned off, with proceeds benefiting the Shepard family.

Tony Stewart returns to NASCAR Sprint Cup racing Sunday in Atlanta after his involvement in an accident that killed sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr. on Aug. 9 during a race in upstate New York. ... The appearance of legendary race car driver Sir Stirling Moss, five Ralph Lauren cars from his extensive collection — it's OK to admit you're surprised that Lauren is in On The Fly — and assorted races are part of the festivities at Lime Rock Park Friday through Monday.

The NFL is implementing a domestic violence initiative that includes a six-game suspension for a first offense and a lifetime ban for a second offense. This happened after commissioner Roger Goodell issued only a two-game suspension for Ray Rice for assaulting his then-fiancée in February. "I didn't get it right," Goodell said. These were two good calls by Goodell for increasing the punishment and for admitting his mistake.

With the expected glut of Labor Day weekend traffic Friday night, here are three words of advice for those attending the BYU-UConn football game at the Rent: Get there early.